


Silent Suffering

by ItsMirkwoodGirl



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton
Genre: Based On A Writing Prompt, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Other, Padawan Obi-Wan, Podfic Welcome, Sick Obi-Wan, Sign Language, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 06:59:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17544887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsMirkwoodGirl/pseuds/ItsMirkwoodGirl
Summary: Based on the Promt "Don't you sign to me in that tone!"Obi-Wan is sick and (currently) mute. Qui-Gon is amused.





	Silent Suffering

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!  
> This is just a short little thingy I came up with. I don't know much sign language, but enough to understand a little and to have basic conversation. This isn't 100% accurate though. The way I wrote down the signed phrases is based on how you would actually sign them. To give you a quick example: If I wanted to sign the lyrics of "Photograph" by Ed Sheeran, I'd not sign them in the correct grammar of spoken english. Instead, I'd sign "Love - may - hurt/pain - love - may - hurt/pain - sometimes - but - alone - I know". There's signs that mean several things, and there's no grammatic structure like in spoken language. I tried to replicate it a little in the written version.  
> Hope you like it!  
> Loads of love,  
> Lotta

Obi-Wan felt completely and utterly miserable. He was cold and almost shivering, his body ached and hurt and his head was pounding. This had been going on for almost a week now, and it just wouldn’t get better. At least the healers had allowed him to stay at his and his master’s shared quarters. That was something. Obi-Wan really hated the healer’s wing… but staying at home had a disadvantage as well: His master. He loved Qui-Gon Jinn, of course he did – the man was the closest thing to a parent the boy had – but he didn’t seem to take his Padawan’s sickness as seriously as Obi-Wan would have liked him to.

 

“You know…”, Qui-Gon said, handing Obi-Wan a cup of tea. “It is amazing how _quiet_ this place can be.”

 

Obi-Wan shot him an angry glare and took a sip of the tea.

 

“It’s almost unsettling”, Qui-Gon continued. “Usually it is so hard to stop your constant chatter…”

 

Obi-Wan produced an angry growling sound, which he immediately regretted since it hurt – like a knife scratching over the insides of his throat.

 

“You can’t deny it”, Qui-Gon said. “You tend to babble quite a bit, my Padawan.”

 

Obi-Wan huffed, jaw and lower lip pushed forward in an angry pout. His master chuckled.

 

“Don’t do that”, he scolded without any sharpness behind his words. “You know I’m just messing with you a little.”

 

Obi-Wan furrowed his brows, but nodded.

 

“There you go.”

 

His master picked up his data-pad and continued reading. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and fell back against the backrest of the couch. Master Vokara Che had banned him from using his own data-pad for at least another week, which annoyed Obi-Wan in many different ways.

 

One, he couldn’t do homework so he would have more to catch up once he was healthy again, two, he still had a few books he wanted to read desperately, and three, he didn’t have anything to do. Really, nothing. He couldn’t train since he was barely able to walk from the couch to the fresher, and Qui-Gon wouldn’t allow it anyways, he couldn’t study, he couldn’t read, he couldn’t cook, he just had nothing to do! And (which was even worse) he had nothing to distract himself with when his master decided to start teasing him again. He really enjoyed this teasing, especially since Obi-Wan couldn’t talk back and give witty, sarcastic answers, for once.

 

“Maybe I should comm Tahl…”, Qui-Gon said, as if he was talking to himself. Obi-Wan groaned and rolled his eyes. It was horrible not being able to say something snarky.

 

“I’d just like someone to talk to, you’re not the best company at the moment…”

 

Obi-Wan huffed and crossed his arms, feeling his master’s glance on him.

“I mean, at the moment I can hardly discuss with you the complex topics we usually talk about, can I?”, the master asked, one eyebrow pulled up critically.

 

Suddenly, Obi-Wan remembered the language classes he had taken in the last year – one of them a wordless language that didn’t need him to actually make any kind of sound. Why hadn’t he thought about this earlier? He turned towards his master and made a few hand movements. His fingers felt stiff, he hadn’t signed in a long while, but it looked good enough.

 

“I suppose we could do that”, Qui-Gon said slowly. “But I don’t know enough Basic Signing to understand all of your snarky comments and arguments, Padawan.”

 

Obi-Wan responded with another wave of signs: _Not funny, master! Here – I am – suffering – and you – mocking me – insensitive!_

 

“Me, insensitive? Never!” Qui-Gon pretended to be hurt. “How can you say something like that? Well, sign.”

 

 _You know, what?_ Obi-Wan finger-spelled out what he wanted to say next. Qui-Gon gasped, feigning shock.

 

“How dare you sign to me in that tone? I should be grounding you for this!”

_Healer – C-H-E – before – grounded – me. Empty – threat._

 

“Don’t test me”, Qui-Gon threatened, though his eyes were sparkling the way they always did when he was joking. “I might ground you for longer once you’re healed.”

 

_Got – classes. Me – need – go – there – study. My teachers – not happy – if – me – not – there._

“I would make sure to excuse you, of course.”

 

Obi-Wan made some more signs. Qui-Gon gasped again. “My, Obi-Wan, have you forgotten about your lessons about appropriate use of language?” He finger-spelled: _U-E-S-P-E-C-T_ , mixing up the crossed fingers of the _R_ with the fingers that were pressed together to sign a _U._ Obi-Wan burst into a fit of laughter, though it turned into coughing almost immediately. When he had calmed his breathing, he could hear Qui-Gon huff. “Very funny, very funny and very mature to laugh about a simple spelling mistake.”

 

_Funny – more – than – teasing – defenceless – me!_

 

“I think that we disagree on that, Padawan.”

 

_Yes. Seems – like – it._

 

“Agree to disagree, then?”

 

Obi-Wan shrugged. _You – agree – I am – suffering? Me – poor – victim?_

 

“You’re not a victim, Obi-Wan, you’re overdramatic”, Qui-Gon corrected. “But if it makes you happy, I’ll admit that you’re suffering. There, I said it.”

 

Obi-Wan made a show out of the small gesture that translated to _thank you_. Qui-Gon chuckled again. “And don’t you ever sign to me in that manner again, understood?”

 

Again, Obi-Wan decided to spell. _F-I-I-I-I-N-E._

 

* * *

 

_litrapod did an amazing [podfic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17679173) of this, check it out, they're a genius and I still can't believe this happened..._


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